System and method for managing applications and media content of a wireless communication device

ABSTRACT

A wireless communication device ( 104 ) for providing channel information is described. The device comprises a housing having a first display ( 1008 ) and a second display ( 1006 ), a memory ( 206 ) and a processor ( 204 ). The housing has a first position ( 1002 ) exposing the first and second displays and a second position ( 1004 ) covering the first display and exposing the second display. The memory ( 206 ) stores a plurality of applications and/or media content that may be shown by the second display ( 1006 ). The processor ( 204 ) changes operation of the second display ( 1006 ) from one application to another and/or the media content shown by the second display from one media content to another. Also, applications and/or content of the second display ( 1006 ) may be managed by a control panel application of the first display ( 1008 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of systems andmethods for providing information to wireless communication devices.More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methodsfor providing applications and media artifacts, including text, video,audio and multimedia content, to wireless communication devices thatutilize and interact with such content.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Advancements in computing networks have facilitated distribution ofinformation to users of computing devices. Each computing device of acomputing network may request access to information stored by otherdevices coupled to the network. A computing device coupled to a largenetwork, such as the Internet, may have access to a similarly largeamount of information.

One advancement in computing networks is the development of PushTechnology. Unlike other systems which require each device to requestinformation from information sources, Push Technology deliversinformation automatically to a device according to programmedpreferences. Thus, Push Technology eliminates the need of a computingdevice to seek out one or more information sources to gather specificinformation of interest. Many companies utilize Push Technology to“push” software updates directly to various computing devices operatedor otherwise owned by them.

Although Push Technology is often used for wired computing devices, itis less often used for providing information to wireless communicationdevices. Users of wireless communication devices frequently need accessto a variety of information, but such information is not as readilyavailable to as wired connections due to the limited bandwidth ofwireless connections. Wireless communication systems are challenged tomaximize the quality of information provided to wireless communicationdevices while minimizing the traffic imposed on the wireless connectionsto the devices.

It is further challenge for wireless communication devices to providereceived information on second displays. A second display on aconventional wireless communication device typically providescaller-line identification information as well as status informationabout the device. The second display is typically secondary orsupplemental to a primary display of the device and, thus, is smallerthan the primary display. Unfortunately, due to the limited dimensionsof a second display, manufacturers and suppliers of wirelesscommunication devices are challenged to find a way to maximize thequality of information provided by the second display.

In view of the above, there is a need for a system and method formanaging and displaying content on a second display of a wirelesscommunication device to maximize content quality. Also, there is a needfor a system and method to maximize content quality on the seconddisplay while minimizing burdens on network traffic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary internal components ofvarious servers, controllers and devices that may utilize the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of adevice in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary activation operationof the device in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary change requestoperation of the device in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary manual refreshoperation of the device in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary new contentsnotification operation of the device in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary display contentsoperation of the device in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary channel subscriptionand un-subscription operation of the device in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a relational diagram illustrating exemplary operations of adevice in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary navigation of adevice in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment ofexemplary navigation of a device in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 is a screen view illustrating an embodiment of an exemplaryimage shown by a device in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual view illustrating exemplary communications andresulting actions of another embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a combiningfunction in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a front planar view of a wireless communication device in anopen position showing a first display and a closed position showing asecond display.

FIG. 17 is a planar view of exemplary images that may be shown by asecond display of a wireless communication device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One aspect of the present invention is a wireless communication devicefor providing channel information comprising a housing having a firstdisplay and a second display. The housing has a first position exposingthe first and second displays and a second position covering the firstdisplay and exposing the second display. The device further comprises amemory and a processor coupled to the second display. The memory isconfigured to store a plurality of applications and/or media contentthat may be shown by the second display. The processor is configured tochange operation of the second display from one application to anotherand/or the media content shown by the second display from one mediacontent to another.

Another aspect of the present invention is a wireless communicationdevice comprising one display configured to change from one applicationto another, and wherein another display configured to operate one ormore configuration settings that control operation of the other display.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is provided a wireless communication system100 in accordance with the present invention. The system 100 includesone or more media gateway 102 communicating via wireless link to aplurality of wireless communication devices 104. Any type of wirelesslink may be utilized for the present invention, but it is to beunderstood that a high speed wireless data connection is preferred. Forexample, each media gateway 102 may communicate with the plurality ofwireless communication devices 104 via a cellular-based communicationinfrastructure that utilizes a cellular-based communication protocolssuch as AMPS, CDMA, TDMA, GSM, iDEN, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, WCDMA and theirvariants. Each media gateway 102 may also communicate with the pluralityof wireless communication devices 104 via a peer-to-peer or ad hocsystem utilizing appropriate communication protocols such as Bluetoothand IEEE 802.11. A wireless communication device 106 may alsocommunicate with the media gateway 102 indirectly via another wirelesscommunication device 104 that is communicating with the media gatewaydirectly. In such case, the indirect wireless communication device 106may communicate with the direct wireless communication device 104 via awireless link as described above or a direct link, such as a cable orconnector. It is to be understood that any functionality of the wirelesscommunication device 104 may also apply to the indirect wirelesscommunication device 106 due to the communication between the devicesvia the above wireless link.

The media gateway 102 may receive feeds of media channels, buffer andcache the feeds, and feed them to wireless communication devices 104.The term “channel” refers to content that is received from a singlecontent source and provided in a particular format, such as an XMLlanguage, and the term “feed” refers to fetching of a file from aparticular channel. For one embodiment, the media gateway 102 compressescombined channels and provides them to the wireless communicationdevices 104 where they are decompressed, separated and stored in acontent cache. The media gateway 102 may feed information to thewireless communication device 104 using push, pull and poll technology.For example, for one embodiment, the media gateway 102 generally pushesinformation to the wireless communication device 104, and the devicepull technology from the media gateway upon request.

Although the media gateway 102 may operate on a common platform withother devices, the media gateway may also serve as a control pointacross multiple platforms. Regardless of the platform used, the mediagateway 102 controls, bills and tracks information that is available tothe wireless communication devices 104 and, thus, has access to mediacontent from one or more sources. As shown in FIG. 1, the media gateway102 may receive media content from a content aggregator 108 thatcollects media content from various media providers 110 and/or frommedia providers 112 directly. Preferably, all media content received bythe media gateway are provided in a common format such as, for example,the XML language using the RDF Site Summary (RSS) specification. Somemedia providers 110 may not provide media content in a common format, sothey may deliver the media content to the content aggregator 108. Thecontent aggregator 108 may, in turn, convert the media content to acommon format and forward the converted media content to the mediagateway 102.

The media gateway 102 may also be directly controlled by a serviceprovider, or be coupled to a cockpit controller 114 of a serviceprovider, to manage the flow of billing information 116 and/or othermedia content 118, such as service provider promotions, for the wirelesscommunication system 100.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is provided a block diagram illustratingexemplary internal components of various servers, controllers anddevices that may utilize the present invention. The exemplary embodimentincludes one or more transceivers 202, a processor 204, a memory portion206, one or more output devices 208, and one or more input devices 210.Each embodiment may include a user interface that comprises at least oneinput device 210 and may include one or more output devices 208. Eachtransceiver 202 may be a wired transceiver, such as an Ethernetconnection, or a wireless connection such as an RF transceiver. Theprocessor 204 may couple to, i.e., may include or be connected to, atiming circuit 211 that may determine the current time, i.e., currentdate and time of day, of the device. Unless otherwise stated, the term“time” as used herein may also include calendar date information as wellas clock time information. The internal components 200 may furtherinclude a component interface 212 to provide a direct connection toauxiliary components or accessories for additional or enhancedfunctionality. The internal components 200 preferably include a powersupply 214, such as a battery, for providing power to the other internalcomponents while enabling the server, controller and/or device to beportable.

Referring to the media gateway 102, wireless communication devices 104and content aggregator 108 shown in FIG. 1, each machine may have adifferent set of internal components. The media gateway 102 and thecontent aggregator 108 may include a transceiver 202, a processor 204, amemory 206 and a power supply 214 but may optionally include the otherinternal components 200 shown in FIG. 2. The memory 206 of the mediagateway 102 and the content aggregator 108 should include high capacitystorage in order to handle large volumes of media content. Each wirelesscommunication device 104 must include a transceiver 202, a processor204, a memory 206, one or more output devices 208, one or more inputdevices 210 and a power supply 214. Due to the mobile nature of thewireless communication device 104, the transceiver 202 should bewireless and the power supply should be portable, such as a battery. Thecomponent interface 212 is an optional component of the wirelesscommunication device 104.

An exemplary function of the wireless communication device 104 asrepresented by the internal components 200, upon reception of wirelesssignals, the internal components detect communication signals and thetransceiver 202 demodulates the communication signals to recoverincoming information, such as voice and/or data, transmitted by thewireless signals. After receiving the incoming information from thetransceiver 202, the processor 204 formats the incoming information forone or more output devices 208. Likewise, for transmission of wirelesssignals, the processor 204 formats outgoing information, which may ormay not be activated by the input devices 210, and conveys the outgoinginformation to the transceiver 202 for modulation to communicationsignals. The transceiver 202 conveys the modulated signals to the mediagateway 102 via a remote transceiver.

The input and output devices 208, 210 of the internal components 200 mayinclude a variety of visual, audio and/or mechanical outputs. Forexample, the output device(s) 208 may include a visual output device 216such as a liquid crystal display and light emitting diode indicator, anaudio output device 218 such as a speaker, alarm and/or buzzer, and/or amechanical output device 220 such as a vibrating mechanism. Likewise, byexample, the input devices 210 may include a visual input device 222such as an optical sensor (for example, a camera), an audio input device224 such as a microphone, and a mechanical input device 226 such as aflip sensor, keyboard, keypad, selection button, touch pad, touchscreen, capacitive sensor, motion sensor, and switch. Actions that mayactuate one or more input devices 210 include, but not limited to,opening the wireless communication device, unlocking the device, movingthe device to actuate a motion, moving the device to actuate a locationpositioning system, and operating the device.

The internal components 200 of the media gateway 102, wirelesscommunication devices 104 and content aggregator 108 may include alocation circuit 228. Examples of the location circuit 228 include, butare not limited to, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, atriangulation receiver, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, or any otherinformation collecting device that may identify a current location ofthe device.

The memory portion 206 of the internal components 200 may be used by theprocessor 204 to store and retrieve data. The data that may be stored bythe memory portion 206 include, but is not limited to, operatingsystems, applications, and data. Each operating system includesexecutable code that controls basic functions of the communicationdevice, such as interaction among the components of the internalcomponents 200, communication with external devices via the transceiver202 and/or the component interface 212, and storage and retrieval ofapplications and data to and from the memory portion 206. Eachapplication includes executable code utilizes an operating system toprovide more specific functionality for the communication device, suchas file system service and handling of protected and unprotected datastored in the memory portion 206. Data is non-executable code orinformation that may be referenced and/or manipulated by an operatingsystem or application for performing functions of the communicationdevice.

The processor 204 may perform various operations to store, manipulateand retrieve information in the memory portion 206. Each component ofthe internal components 200 is not limited to a single component butrepresents functions that may be performed by a single component ormultiple cooperative components, such as a central processing unitoperating in conjunction with a digital signal processor and one or moreinput/output processors. Likewise, two or more components of theinternal components 200 may be combined or integrated so long as thefunctions of these components may be performed by the communicationdevice.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is provided a schematic diagram illustratingan exemplary embodiment of a device, such as wireless communicationdevice 104. As described above, channels of content and properties 302,such as connection and channel settings, are received from one or moremedia gateways 102 by each wireless communication device 104. Channelsare chosen from a list, synchronized on the media gateway 102,identifying channels that are available to the wireless communicationdevice 104. The wireless communication device 104 includes a service304, stored in the memory 206 and executed by the processor 204, thatfetches content from the media gateway 102 and places them a contentcache 306 of the memory. The content files and fetch details arespecified by the channel settings and properties received from the mediagateway 102. Each content file includes one or more items havinginformation based on a common format, such as an XML schema based offRSS. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the content cache 306 may storemultiple channels 308 of content in which each channel may includemultiple items 310 of content.

The exemplary embodiment of the device also includes one or moreplug-ins 312 to provide functionality and one or more containers 314operating as framework elements and having an area on the display.Examples of plug-in functionality include, but are not limited to,instant messaging buddy activity viewing, news reading and live playsport viewing. Each container 314 may be associated with one or moreplug-ins 312. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the news reader plug-in312 is loaded into the container 314. For one embodiment, the plug-in312 is designed to fetch XML (RSS) files and display the contentreferenced in the XML file for the container 314. The container 314holds rules for interaction between loaded plug-ins based on where thecontainer is displayed, e.g., idle status of the device.

The exemplary embodiment of the device further includes one or moredisplay templates 316 and a display area 318, as referenced above,associated with a container 314. Each container 314 may provide achannel 308 of content, stored in the content cache 306, at the displayarea 318 of an output device 208. Individual items 310 of the channel308 are displayed based on the container information and correspondingdisplay template 316. The display template 316 defines the manner inwhich content is displayed at the display area 318. The display template316 to use for a particular content is defined by channel settings forthe current channel 308.

FIGS. 4 through 9 represent examples of important functions of thedynamic portal system and method in accordance with the presentinvention, in particular, examples of an activation operation, a changerequest operation, a manual refresh operation, a new contentsnotification operation, a display contents operation, and a channelsubscription and un-subscription operation. These functions areperformed by various components of the dynamic portal system, namely aGraphical User Interface (GUI) 402, a Dynamic Idle Service 404, aService Loader 502, a Cache Manager 406, a Fetch Task 408, and a MediaGateway (Media GW) 410. The GUI 402 is an application of the wirelesscommunication device 104 that interacts with a user, i.e., providesinformation via the output devices 208 and receives information via theinput devices 210. The Dynamic Idle Service 404 is another applicationof the wireless communication device 104 that manages the containers 313and their associated media content and applications (e.g., plug-ins).The Service Loader is another application of the wireless communicationdevice 104 that manages the services to be received by the wirelesscommunication device 104, namely identifying the channels of mediacontent to be provided to the user. The Cache Manager 406 is yet anotherapplication of the wireless communication device 104 that manages thecontent cache 306 of channels 308. The Fetch Task 408 is still anotherapplication of the wireless communication device 104 that manages andstores formatted feeds, such as XML (RSS) feeds, received from the mediagateway 102. The Media GW 410 represents the media gateway 102 shown inFIG. 1.

The dynamic portal system and method may operate during an idle mode ofthe wireless communication device 104. The wireless communication device104 is generally designed to perform operations directed by its user.When the user interacts with the input devices 210 of the wirelesscommunication device 104, the device responsively performs the requestedfunctions as it is able, such as managing voice calls, text messages,and the like. When the wireless communication device 104 no longerperforms such functions and is merely waiting to activity, the deviceenters the idle mode. When the device 104 enters the idle mode, thedynamic portal system and method may operate in response.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary activation operation400 of the wireless communication device 104. When a user initiallyactivates the device 104, the device may start in the idle mode and haveone or more default containers configured. The number of containers, thecontainer types, channels and contents are pre-configured in the device104 and defined in a Dynamic Portal configuration file and its containerprofiles. The wireless communication device 104 may then execute itsnormal start-up sequences, create personal settings and load up thedefault contents for viewing by the user. The default contents may comefrom a local storage, such as the content cache 306 of the memory 206.

After a network connection is established, the new contents may bedownloaded from a service provider's media gateway 102. Initially, theDynamic Idle Service 404 sends a request for contents to the CacheManager 406 at step 412. The Cache Manager 406 then checks thetimestamps of the media content in the content cache 306 for newcontents availability and last download time at step 414. If new mediacontent is available or the existing media content (presently stored inthe content cache 306) is not up-to-date, then the Cache Manager 406sends a request to fetch new media content to the Fetch Task 408 at step416. The Cache Manager 406 also provides the existing media content tothe Dynamic Idle Service 404 at step 418 which, in turn, forward theexisting media content to the GUI 402 for viewing by the user at step420.

In response to receiving the request to fetch new media content from theCache Manager 406, the Fetch Task 408 sends a formatted request for thenew media content, in an appropriate common format, to the Media GW 410at step 422. For example, for one embodiment, the Fetch Task 408 sendsan HTTP request for RSS content. The Media GW 410 then clears aNot-to-Send flag at step 424 and sends a formatted response, includingthe requested content in the requested format, to the Fetch Task 408 atstep 426. After receiving the response, the Fetch Task 408 saves thetime of download and associates it with the received media content atstep 428. The Fetch Task 408 also parses the received media content, forexample, into appropriate channels. The Fetch Task 408 then sends themedia content to the Cache Manager 406 for storage in the content cache306 at step 430. Thereafter, the Cache Manager 406 sends the mediacontent and a service notification to the Dynamic Idle Service 404 atstep 432 and, in turn, the Dynamic Idle service forwards the mediacontent to the GUI 402 for presentation to the user at step 434.

The initial contents may be provided free by the GUI 402 for a specificlength of time, i.e., trial period. Once the trial period is over, ifthe user does not subscribe any channels, the service provider mayprovide some free media content (e.g., out of date content) to fill upthe channels and only subscribed channels would have up-to-date mediacontent. Also, media content may be received from a Media GW 410 of aparticular service provider may be tied to an identity card of thewireless communication device 104, such as a SIM card. When a differentSIM is inserted to the device 104, the cached and archived contents maybe removed during the startup sequence of the device.

The media content is periodically pulled or pushed from the serviceprovider's Media GW 410. The latest and non-duplicated news may bedownloaded to the wireless communication device 104. A service providermay define the polling interval and the number of news articles to bedownloaded at a given time. The user of the wireless communicationdevice 104 may adjust the scrolling rate for viewing media content, setthe storage size for the archived media content, when the archived mediacontent will be deleted, and other options to be configured by the user.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary change a request of“No Download When Roaming” operation 500 of the wireless communicationdevice 104. A user of the wireless communication device 104 or a serviceprovider may wish to avoid any downloading of media content to thecommunication device when the device is roaming. If the device 104 is orwill be roaming, then the Media GW 410 should avoid downloading anymedia content; if the device 104 is not or will not be roaming, then theMedia GW should permit downloading of media content. By preventingdownloads during roaming, the processing capacity and power source levelof the wireless communication device 104 may be preserved. For thisoperation 500, the GUI 402 submits the request to the Media GW 410 atstep 504. The request may be provided by messaging, such as via abrowser using HTTP, or by human interaction, such as via voice. Inresponse to the request, the Media GW 410 sends a response message backto the GUI 402 at step 506. Then, when the Media GW 410 is able toconfirm that the request is granted, it sends a confirmation message tothe Server Loader 502 at step 508. After receiving the confirmationmessage, the Server Loader 502 instructions the Dynamic Idle Service 404to save the state, i.e., prevent download or permit download, of therequest at step 510. Thereafter, the Dynamic Idle Service 404 sends anacknowledgement 512 to the GUI 402 at step 512.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary manual refreshoperation 600 for an asynchronous model of the wireless communicationdevice 104. Although media gateway 102 will generally push media contentto the wireless communication device 104, there may be one or moreoccasions when the device will need to pull media content from the mediagateway, such as a refresh request. For this operation 600, the GUI 402sends a request to refresh contents to the Dynamic Idle Service 404 atstep 602. Next, the Dynamic Idle Service 404 sends a request for mediacontent to the Fetch Task 408 at step 604. The Dynamic Idle Service 404also sends a return message to the GUI 402 at step 606. In response tothe Dynamic Idle Service's request for media content, the Fetch Task 408sends a formatted request for the media content, in an appropriatecommon format, to the Media GW 410 at step 608. The Media GW 410 thenclears a Not-to-Send flag at step 610 and sends a formatted response,including the requested content in the requested format, to the FetchTask 408 at step 612. After receiving the response, the Fetch Task 408saves the time of download and associates it with the received mediacontent at step 614. The Fetch Task 408 also parses the received mediacontent, for example, into appropriate channels. The Fetch Task 408 thensends the media content to the Cache Manager 406 for storage in thecontent cache 306 at step 616. Thereafter, the Cache Manager 406 sendsthe media content and a notification to the Dynamic Idle Service 404 atstep 618 and, in turn, the Dynamic Idle service forwards the mediacontent to the GUI 402 for presentation to the user at step 620.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary new contentsnotification operation 700 of the wireless communication device 104. Themedia gateway 104 may update the media content of one or more channelsas appropriate, such as when new content becomes available or when theuser desires to receive new content. For this operation 700, the MediaGW 410 determines whether it may send media content to the wirelesscommunication device 104 by checking the Not-to-Send flag. If theNot-to-Send flag indicates that content may be sent, then the Media GW410 sends a message, such as an SMS, for new contents to the ServiceLoader 502 at step 702. The Media GW 410 also sets the Not-to-Send flagduring or after the message is sent at step 704. Upon receiving themessage, the Service Loader 502 logs the timestamp of the new mediacontent availability and associates the timestamp with the new mediacontent at step 706. The Service Loader 502 then check to see if theDynamic Idle Service 404 is active at step 708. If so, a request for newmedia content is sent to the Cache Manager 406 at step 710. Next, theCache Manager 406 sends a request to fetch the new media content to theFetch Task 408 at step 712 and, in turn, the Fetch Task sends aformatted requested for the new media content, in an appropriate commonformat, to the Media GW 410 at step 714.

In response, the Media GW 410 clears a Not-to-Send flag at step 716 andsends a formatted response, including the requested content in therequested format, to the Fetch Task 408 at step 718. After receiving theresponse, the Fetch Task 408 saves the time of download and associatesit with the received media content at step 720. The Fetch Task 408 alsoparses the received media content, for example, into appropriatechannels. The Fetch Task 408 then sends the media content to the CacheManager 406 for storage in the content cache 306 at step 722.Thereafter, the Cache Manager 406 sends the media content and anotification to the Dynamic Idle Service 404 at step 724 and, in turn,the Dynamic Idle service forwards the media content to the GUI 402 forpresentation to the user at step 726.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary display contentsoperation 800 of the wireless communication device 104. The wirelesscommunication device 104 may scroll or cycle through media contentassociated with one or more containers to its user. The user may selecta particular media content appearing on an output device 208 of thewireless communication device 104 to obtain more detail about theparticular media content. For this operation 800, the GUI 402 requestssubsequent media content, i.e., the next media content after the mediacontent currently shown on an output device 208, associated with eachcontainer from the Dynamic Idle Service 404 at step 802, and the DynamicIdle Service responds with the requested media content at step 804. Thisprocess continues, as represented by steps 806 and 808 until the userselects a particular media content and the GUI 402 sends a request fordetail of the particular media content to the Dynamic Idle Service 404at step 810. The Dynamic Idle Service 404 forwards the request fordetail to the Cache Manager 406 at step 812 and, in response, the CacheManager searches the content cache 306 for the requested detail. If thedetail of the particular media content is not in the content cache 306,then the Cache Manager 406 sends a formatted request for the detail tothe Media GW 410 at step 814. Next, the Media GW 410 provides aformatted response with the requested detail to the Cache Manager 406 atstep 816. The Cache Manager 406 forward the detail to the Dynamic IdleService 404 at step 818 and, in turn, the Dynamic Idle Service forwardsthe detail to the GUI 402 at step 820. Upon receiving the detail of theparticular media content (or an indication that such detail will besent), the GUI 402 stops scrolling or cycling the media content andlaunches an appropriate application for the detail. For example, if thedetail is a movie, then the GUI 402 may launch a movie player so thatthe user may view the detail at an output device 208.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary channel subscriptionand un-subscription operation 900 of the wireless communication device104. The user of the wireless communication device 104 may have theability to pick-and-choose the type of content that may be received bythe device. For this operation 900, the GUI 402 sends a request for asubscription or termination of a subscription, i.e., unsubscription, tothe Media GW 410 at step 902. The request may be provided by messaging,such as via a browser using HTTP, or by human interaction, such as viavoice. In response to the request, the Media GW 410 sends a response tothe request to the GUI 402 at step 904. The Media GW 410 also sends aconfirmation message to the Service Loader 502 at step 906, and sets theNot-to-Send flag at step 908. The Service Loader 502, in turn, notifiesthe Dynamic Idle Service 404 of the media content, such as thecorresponding channels, that are to be sent or will no longer be sent tothe wireless communication device 104 in the future at step 910. TheDynamic Idle Service 404 then instructs the Cache manager 406 to removecached contents of unsubscribed media content from the content cache 306at step 912 and to obtain and store content of subscribed media contentin the content cache at step 914.

In response to receiving the request for content from the Dynamic IdleService 404, the Cache Manager 406 sends a request to fetch new mediacontent to the Fetch Task 408 at step 916 and, in turn, the Fetch Tasksends a formatted request for the new media content, in an appropriatecommon format, to the Media GW 410 at step 918. The Cache Manager 406also provides the existing media content to the Dynamic Idle Service 404for subscribed media content at step 920. The Dynamic Idle Service 404then instructs the GUI 402 to add or delete channels from containers,add or delete containers, and/or present default contents to the user asappropriate based on the subscribed and unsubscribed media content atstep 922.

In response to receiving the request from the Fetch Task 408, the MediaGW 410 clears a Not-to-Send flag at step 924 and sends a formattedresponse, including the requested content in the requested format, tothe Fetch Task 408 at step 926. After receiving the response, the FetchTask 408 saves the time of download and associates it with the receivedmedia content and, also, parses the received media content, for example,into appropriate channels. The Fetch Task 408 then sends the mediacontent to the Cache Manager 406 for storage in the content cache 306 atstep 428. Thereafter, the Cache Manager 406 sends the media content anda service notification to the Dynamic Idle Service 404 at step 930 and,in turn, the Dynamic Idle service forwards the media content to the GUI402 for presentation to the user at step 932.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is provided a relational diagramillustrating exemplary operations of a device in accordance with thepresent invention. The present invention provides a simple way tocontextually multitask with applications and features on devices havinglimited screen sizes and/or limited computing power, such as many typesof wireless communication devices. As shown in FIG. 10, the exemplaryoperations utilizes a framework of containers which display informationand provide access to functionality relevant to the informationcurrently displayed. Contextual information is provided and formatted inreusable containers as channels of information or functionality. Theinformation may be delivered by loading functionality into containers,such as plug-ins described above.

The plug-ins may display and gather information in a number of ways,make network connections, gather external information and provide theinformation via an output device 208. Plug-ins may be loaded intocontainers to provide customization, particularly for idle stateplug-ins. The plug-ins have specific functionality to provide relevantinformation to an output device 208. The plug-in framework allows theplug-in to launch applications by supplying a launch string. Theplug-ins may search locally to the device to gather information andprovide the information to the output device 208. The plug-ins may alsocall the functionality of other applications, services and/or API's onthe display and surface the information and/or functionality whereverthe container exists. Each piece of information may include a directaccess link to more information by providing more content or directaccess to functionality, applications or tasks. Examples of plug-insinclude news reader plug-ins, short cut plug-ins, and 3rd partyplug-ins.

With plug-ins and channels of content, the wireless communication devicemay passively monitor device activity relating to information providedby one or more output devices 208. Content will be provided to theoutput device or devices 208 on a regular basis, and deeper contentand/or functionality may be accessed by activation of one or more inputdevices 210.

The general concept of device engagement as well as two examples areshown. For the general concept, a channel may be selected by an inputdevice 210 so that its content may be provided in a container during anidle state of the wireless communication device. Upon selection, asrepresented by block 1002, a plug-in appropriate for the channel may beassociated with the container and gather information, i.e., mediacontent, in the background of the device's operation. Next, asrepresented by block 1004, the output device 210 provides informationthrough the selected channel. The information may be provided usinguncommon technology or common technology such as JAVA SVG, Flash, SMILEand the like. At some point thereafter, as represented by block 1006, auser may select the channel of particular interest by actuating an inputdevice 210 to launch relative functionality. Thus, a command is passedto the processor 204 to cause corresponding functionality to beexecuted. In response, as represented by block 1008, the user has moreaccess to delve deeper into the content or functionality of the channel.

One type of channel is a media channel which is exemplified by themiddle row of FIG. 10. For this example, the media channel utilizes anews reader plug-in. Media channels are pure content, and contentcreators and owners may deliver content to the device from their currentmanagement systems by using a common format to deliver the content,such. A user may choose to display news in a container by utilizing anews reader plug-in as represented by block 1010. Thus, a service 304may gather formatted feeds, such as XML (RSS) feeds, from the mediagateway 102 and store the latest news stories in the content cache 306.The news reader plug-in provides the news stories one at a time througha channel 308 in a container 314, so a user may passively view the newsstories, as represented by block 1012. For example, top news stories maybe displayed by an output device 208 through an SVG displayer. When aninteresting story appears that is of interest to the user, the user mayactuate an input device 210 to select the channel and find out moreinformation, as represented by block 1014. The selection of the channelmay, for example, cause the news plug-in to obtain the correspondingfull story by obtaining an URL of an associated news website from an XMLitem, as represented by block 1016. The media content may be obtaineddirectly from the website and cached in the content cache 306 or fromthe content aggregator 108 and cached in the content cache. As a result,a browser may be launched by the processor 204 and the URL of the XMLitem may be loaded, so that a web page is provided by an output device208.

Another type of channel is a functional channel which is exemplified bythe bottom row of FIG. 10. For this example, the functional channelutilizes an Instant Messaging (IM) buddy list plug-in. Functionalchannels are single channels with functionality built into them.Examples of functional channels include, but are not limited to, JAVAapplications that may be used to gather information from within thedevice and multimedia players that may fetch rich content from the WorldWide Web. A user may desire to monitor IM buddies, an IM buddy listplug-in may be associated with a container, as represented by block1018. An IM client resident in the wireless communication device maystay up-to-date with the users of the IM buddy list. The user maypassively view the activity of her or his buddies at an output device208 as buddies come online or sign off, as represented by block 1020.When the user desires to communicate with another user who comes online,the user may select the channel using an input device 210, asrepresented by block 1022. The buddy's identification is passed to theIM client with instructions to initiate a chat session. The IM clientinitiates the chat session with the device of the other user who justsigned on, as represented by block 1024.

Referring to FIG. 11, there is provided a schematic diagram illustratingexemplary navigation of a device in accordance with the presentinvention. A display of a wireless communication device may show andprovide interaction for various types of information such as statusinformation regarding the performance of the device and a menu systemfor operating and configuring the device. The present invention furtherincludes a plurality of display areas for providing channels of contentand application shortcuts. In particular, each display area correspondsto a particular container, and each container may provide channelcontent to its corresponding display area. For one embodiment, as shownin FIG. 11, the display areas have elongated, horizontal dimensions andare provided in parallel and adjacent to each other. However, it is tobe understood that the display areas may have other dimensions orpositions so long as the functional properties of the display areas arepreserved and the content is conveniently viewable by a user.

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative representation of a visual output 216,i.e., display screen 1102, of a wireless communication device. For theexample shown, the display screen 1102 includes an upper display area1104 associated with a first container for providing media content of anIM Buddy channel, a middle display area 1106 associated with a secondcontainer for providing media content of a News channel, and a lowerdisplay area 1108 associated with a third container for providingapplication shortcut links 1110. Each container may only display mediacontent associated with one channel at a display area at any given time.The first container utilizes an IM Buddy Activity Viewer plug-in tomanage and display each item of the IM Buddy channel to the upperdisplay area 1104 in the appropriate manner, the second containerutilizes a News Reader plug-in to manage and display each item of theNews channel to the middle display area 1106 in the appropriate manner,and the third container provides shortcut links 1110 to a plurality ofapplications at the lower display area 1108. For the third container,each shortcut link 1110 may be associated with a plug-in or otherapplication stored in memory 206 of the device such as, but not limitedto, an access plug-in to an online service, a phonebook application, afile management application, a calendar application and a multimediamanagement plug-in.

A user may navigate among the display areas 1104, 1106, 1108 to selectone or more channels for each container and its associated display area.After a particular channel is selected, the processor 204 automaticallyloads the appropriate plug-in or plug-ins 312 and display template 316for the channel based on channel configuration information and formatinformation fetched by the device's service 304. The user may alsonavigate between items within a container, such as various locations andshortcut links within a display area.

As represented by FIG. 11, a carousel function of the wirelesscommunication device allows multiple channels to be displayed in asingle container. As stated above, each container may only display mediacontent associated with one channel at a display area at any given time.Thus, the carousel function cycles through all channels associated witha particular container, and its associated display area, so that thechannels may be viewed by a user within a given time period, i.e., aone-cycle period. For example, the first display area 1104 may cyclethrough an IM Buddy channel and a My Community Photo channel. Likewise,for example, the second display area 1106 may cycle through a First Newschannel, a Second News channel and a Carrier Content channel. Althoughthe carousel function may cycle to another channel in response to useractivation of an input device 210, the carousel function preferablycycles from one channel to another automatically without user input. Thecarousel function may change the channel of each container at regularpredetermined time intervals or the carousel function may determine aviewing time period for each channel based on its channel type or mediacontent type. Although channel cycling may occur at predetermined timeintervals or based on an initial time set by a user, the wirelesscommunication device may also coordinate the cycling of channels foreach container to maximize viewing ease by the user. For example, thechannels may change for each display area in sequential order fromtop-to-bottom (i.e., display area 1104 to display area 1106 to displayarea 1108), or vice-versa, so that the user may view each display areain the same sequential order. The carousel function may further cyclethrough shortcut links and channels of shortcut links in the samemanner. For example, the third display area 1108 may cycle between afirst group of shortcut links 1110 to a second group of shortcut linksor cycle to other groups of shortcut links before returning the firstgroup.

Referring to FIG. 12, there is provided a schematic diagram illustratinganother embodiment of exemplary navigation of a device. For thisembodiment, the wireless communication device utilizes a navigationstructure 1200 as well as prioritization of media content relative toeach other. The presentation of the media content may be controlled bytheir priority or context, thus allowing for automatic arrangement ofdisplayed media content based on various factors. In other words, somemedia content may have an associative or hierarchical relationship withother media content.

For this embodiment, the display of the wireless communication devicemay show a plurality of display areas and each display area correspondsto a container for showing a particular channel. For example, as shownin FIG. 12, a first display area shows a Calendar channel 1202, a seconddisplay area shows a News #1 channel 1204, a third display area shows aSports channel 1206 and a fourth display area shows a Stocks channel1208. The items of each channel may cycle horizontally or verticallywithin their respective display area.

A user may select a channel for any container so, in reference to FIG.12 for example, the user may select between a channel for a News #1channel 1204, another channel for a News #2 channel 1210 and yet anotherchannel for a News #3 channel depending upon the news source desired bythe user. Thereafter, the carousel function of the wirelesscommunication device may cycle through the items for the selectedchannel. For example, the carousel function may cycle through headlinesof News #2 1210, News #2 World News 1214, News #2 U.S. News 1216 andNews #2 Business News 1218 if the user selects the News #2 channel.

In lieu of a user selection of a channel for a particular container, thewireless communication device may also configure the containers topresent media content based other triggering factors, such as time andlocation. Triggering factors may be hardware based (as well as softwarebased) and include, but are not limited to, opening the wirelesscommunication device, unlocking the device, moving the device to actuatea motion, moving the device to actuate a location positioning system,and operating the device. Information relating to the current time ofthe device may be received from the timing circuit 211. The timingcircuit 211 may be integrated within the processor 204 or may be aseparate component coupled to another component of the internalcomponents 200. Examples of the timing circuit 211 include, but are notlimited to, an internal clock, a receiving circuit that receives clockinformation via the transceiver 202 and/or component interface 212, andany other type of circuit that may determine a current time based oninformation received from another component of the internal components200.

For one embodiment, the wireless communication device may select aparticular channel among a plurality of channels associated with acontainer of the device based on the current time of the device. A unitof content of the particular channel may be provided by the dynamiccontainer if an update time of the particular channel corresponds to thecurrent time of the device. The update time may correspond to a timeperiod when content of the particular channel is recurringly updated.For example, for a device located in the United States, the device mayselect a European channel for a particular container around noon everyweekday since the European evening news would become available at aboutthat time on those days. The device may collect information about theavailability of the European evening news by monitoring the mediacontent received for a particular channel during a predetermined timeperiod, such as the previous week, and storing the information in thememory 206. The processor 204 may thereafter analyze the storedinformation to determine the appropriate update time. In thealternative, the user may provide the update time via an input device210. Accordingly, the transceiver 202 may obtain the media content,e.g., the European evening news, before the update time of theparticular channel so that the information will be ready for viewing bythe user with minimal delay.

For another embodiment, the wireless communication device may select aparticular channel among a plurality of channels associated with acontainer of the device based on the current location of the device.Information relating to the current location of the device may bereceived from the location circuit 228. The location circuit 228 may beintegrated within, or separate from, another component of the internalcomponents 200. Examples of the location circuit 228 include, but arenot limited to, a Global Positioning System circuit that receiveslocation information via the transceiver 202 and/or component interface212, and any other type of circuit that may determine a current locationbased on information received from another component of the internalcomponents 200.

For this embodiment, a unit of content of the particular channel may beprovided by the dynamic container if an associated location of theparticular channel corresponds to the current time of the device. Theassociated location may correspond to a location of a source associatedwith the particular channel, such as a European broadcast station forthe European evening news. The location of the source may be provided tothe device via channel settings received from the media gateway 102 bythe device's server 304. Knowing the location of the source, if a usertravels with the device to a European location, then the device mayselect a European channel for a particular container. Thereafter, thetransceiver 202 may obtain the media content, e.g., the European eveningnews, as soon as possible so that the information will be ready forviewing by the user with minimal delay.

Referring to FIG. 13, there is provided a screen view illustrating anembodiment of an exemplary image shown by a device. For this embodiment,multiple display areas 1300 are shown as part or all of an output device208 of a wireless communication device. Each display area corresponds toa container and one or more channels or applications are managed by thecontainer. For this example, a first container provides media contentrelating to a Calendar application at a first display area 1302, asecond container provides media content relating to a News channel at asecond display area 1304, a third container provides media contentrelating to a Sports channel at a third display area 1306, a fourthcontainer provides media content relating to a Stocks channel at afourth display area 1308, a fifth container provides media contentrelating to a Films channel at a fifth display area 1310, and a sixthcontainer provides media content relating to a Received Messagesapplication at a sixth display area 1312.

For the containers that are associated with at least one channel, thecorresponding display areas 1304, 1306, 1308, 1310 may show anidentifier, such as a color code, style, shading pattern, or othervisual indicator, to conveniently indicate the age of the media contentpresented by the container. For another embodiment, the identifier mayalso be mapped to the type of the media content in addition to the ageof the media content. The map may be selected by the user or included inthe media content when downloaded from the media gateway 102. Ifselected by the user, the user can manually set, using a configurationpage, indication mapping instructions of a rating criteria forinterpreting age information. Examples of types of media contentinclude, but are not limited to, news, sports, stocks and films.

The type of the media content may be used to identify a reference timeframe for interpreting the age of the media content. For example, mediacontent relating to news generally becomes dated in a matter of hours,whereas film listings are typically valid for an entire week. As shownin FIG. 13, for example, the user may manually set the identifiers 1314,1318 for the News and Stocks to go from high rating indicator, such as agreen icon, to a medium rating indicator, such as a yellow icon, after ahalf hour has passed without an update. If more time passes without anupdate, the identifiers 1314, 1318 for News and Stocks may turn to a lowrating indicator, such as a red icon. Turning to an example for theSports channel, the latest media content downloaded for the Sportschannel has set the identifier 1316 for a dynamic indication for the asporting event. In particular, the identifier may indicate theprobability that the current score will be the final score for thesporting event. Thus, for example, the identifier 1316 for Sport channelmay show a medium rating indicator when the sporting event is about halfover and a low rating indicator when the game is close to ending. Forthe example shown, halftime is occurring for an American football game,so the identifier shows a medium rating indicator, such as a yellowicon. Finally, the information downloaded for the Film container is setautomatically to expire at Thursday at midnight, since the schedule attheaters is fixed weekly at that time. Thus, assuming that the currenttime is a date earlier in the week, the identifier 1320 for the Filmchannel is set to a high rating indicator, such as a green icon. It isto be understood that any kind of indicator or gauge may be used insteadof the color code used by the above example.

Referring to FIG. 14, there is provided a conceptual view illustratingexemplary communications and resulting actions of another embodiment.This embodiment tracks viewing and usage habits of the wirelesscommunication device based on time and activity. The device may deliverinformation and experiences that are integrated with their habitualbehaviors. By informing the device of these results, the device iscapable of limiting its fetching operations to relevant and usefulinformation at times when there is high probability of the informationbeing consumed. For one embodiment, the above operations may beperformed by the media gateway 102 and, for another embodiment, they maybe performed by the wireless communication device 104.

The media gateway 102 comprises a transceiver and a processor coupled tothe transceiver. The media gateway 102 identifies one or more eventsoccurring at the wireless communication device during a predeterminedtime period. In particular, the transceiver 202 may receive usageinformation from the wireless communication device 104 that indicatesactivity of the device during the predetermined time period. The mediagateway 102 determines a reporting event based on the one or more eventsand a reporting time corresponding to the reporting event. Inparticular, the processor 204 may determines a reporting time based onthe usage activity of the device during the predetermined time period,so that the transceiver 202 may communicate event content to the deviceat a reporting time. Stated another way, the processor 204 may determinea time period of inactivity based on the usage information of thedevice, so that the transceiver 202 may minimize communication of eventcontent to the device during at least one future time periodcorresponding to the time period of inactivity. One way to determine thereporting time is to identify a particular time of day when activityoccurs and marking the particular time of day for future days. Anotherway to determine the reporting time is to identify time periods when thedevice is not being used, and minimizing communication to the deviceduring those time periods. The event content corresponding to thereporting event is obtained before the reporting time to minimizing anydelay in providing the content to the user.

As shown in FIG. 14, the present invention makes intelligent decisionsabout communications between the media gateway 102 and the wirelesscommunication device 104 by transmitting media content from the mediagateway to the device just before the user is likely to consume themedia content. For example, on an average weekday, a user may be asleepuntil 7:00 AM and reads the weather report for the day some time afterwaking-up. Thus, based on this information, the media gateway 102 knowsto send an up-to-date weather report to the device 104 about ten minutesbefore the user typically wakes-up, i.e., 6:50 AM, as represented byblock 1402. Thereafter, the user may wake-up at 7:00 AM and check thereceived weather report before getting dressed, as represented by block1404. While checking the weather report, the device 104 also noticedthat the user read a news story about a new health drink and reportsthis activity to the media gateway 102. The media gateway 102 recordsthis activity in the memory 206, including the time when the activityoccurred, for future reference. For example, the media gateway 102 mayobtain media content, e.g., news, advertisements, and the like, abouthealth drinks before the user wakes-up the next day so that the user mayread more up-to-date information this subject matter.

Continuing this example, the user reads news headlines from the wirelesscommunication device 104 at 7:40 AM, as represented by block 1406. Themedia gateway 102 already obtained the news content in advance, e.g.,7:30 AM, because the media gateway determined that 7:40 AM is a regularreporting time for the device based on prior activity monitored by thedevice. For example, the prior activity may be access to news headlinesevery day the previous week at about 7:45 AM. The user then drives towork and is busy for the entire morning, as represented by block 1408.The media gateway 102 previously noted from information received fromthe device 104 that, during the previous week, the device was only usedto receive calls between 8:30 AM and 12:00 noon. Accordingly, the mediagateway 102 minimized communication of media content to the device 104during this time period, e.g., content was only communicated once. Atnoon, the user reads news stories during lunch, as represented by block1410. The media gateway 102 knows that the user typically reads newsstories soon after 12:00 noon based on information received from thedevice 104, so the media gateway downloaded media content to the contentcache 306 ten minutes earlier, i.e., 11:50 AM. Finally, for thisexample, the device 104 notices that the user read a promotionaladvertisement about a new health drink and accessed a web site abouthealth drinks at about 12:07 PM, as represented by block 1412. Thedevice 104 reported this activity to the media gateway 102 so, based onthis past activity, the media gateway may deliver up-to-date health newsat 11:50 AM the next day.

As stated above, the above activity may be performed by the wirelesscommunication device 104 instead of the media gateway 102. The wirelesscommunication device 104 comprises a user interface (comprising theinput devices 210), a processor 204 coupled to the user interface, and atransceiver 202 coupled to the processor. The processor 204 monitorsusage information indicating activity of the user interface during apredetermined time period. The processor 204 also determines a reportingtime based on the usage information of the user interface and/or a timeperiod of inactivity based on the usage information of the wirelesscommunication device. The transceiver 202 requests the media gateway 102to communicate event content at the reporting time and/or minimizecommunication of event content during at least one future time periodcorresponding to the time period of inactivity. The operation of themedia gateway 102 and the wireless communication device 104 for thisembodiment and similar to their operation for the previous embodiment,except that the activity tracking is performed by the device and themedia gateway merely reacts to requests for content from the device.

Referring to FIG. 15, there is provided a block diagram illustrating anembodiment of a combining function. This embodiment provides seamlessstreams of information to the user that comprise receive broadcastinformation received from a remote location with other informationstored locally. Locally stored information may include, for example,advertisements or other targeted or user-specific information, such astraffic information and announcements, which have been previouslydownloaded to the wireless communication device 104. For example, acompany may wish to introduce, i.e., insert, an advertisement into ageneric stream received by the wireless communication device over abroadcast channel. A combiner 1502 within the device may be used toinsert the advertisement into the generic stream. Signaling in thereceived broadcast stream may indicate the location and/or length of themessage to be inserted, and the device may manage these stored messagesin a database.

The wireless communication device 104 receives a first media content orbroadcast content 1504 and a first media data or markers 1506 associatedwith the first media content from a remote server, such as the mediagateway 102. The first media data 1506 indicates one or more insertionpoints of the first media content 1504 where other information may beinserted. The first media content 1504 and the first media data 1506 maybe received simultaneously or separately. If the first media data 1506is received before the first media content 1504, then a second mediacontent or stored content 1508 may be retrieved from the local memory206 irrespective of whether the first media content has been received.The first media data 1506 may also indicate the length of informationthat may be inserted at each insertion point.

The device 104 then receives the second media content 1508 from itsmemory 206. The second media content 1508 may have been previouslyreceived from the remote server, such as the media gateway 102, oranother source, such as the content aggregators 108 and the mediaproviders 112. Also, the user may, via an input device 210, select aparticular portion of the second media content 1508 from multipleportions of the second media content for insertion into the first mediacontent 1504. In addition, the processor 204 may identify portions ofthe second media content 1508 having an appropriate length for insertioninto the first media content 1504. Thereafter, the device 104 provides acombined media 1510 to an output device 208, such as a visual outputdevice 216, an audio output device 218 or a combination thereof. Thecombined media 1510 includes the first media content 1504 and the secondmedia content 1508, or a part thereof, inserted at one or more insertionpoints of the first media content.

Optionally, the device 104 may communicate billing information 1512 to aremote billing center in response to providing the combined media 1510to the output device 208. When the second media content 1508 is providedto the user of the device 104, and acknowledged by the combiner 1502,the billing information 1512 may be created and sent to the billingcenter. The billing information 1512 would indicate that the secondmedia content 1508 was actually consumed by the user. An appropriatebilling invoice for the service of providing the advertisement to theuser may then be provided to the source of the advertisement.

Referring to FIG. 16, there is provided a wireless communication device1600 in an opened position 1602 and a closed position 1604. The wirelesscommunication device 1600 provides media content of a channel to anexternal display 1606. The device 1600 has a clamshell form factor andcomprises a housing having two displays. One display, i.e., an internaldisplay 1608, is located on the inside of the device 104. Thus, theinternal display 1608 is exposed when the device is opened and coveredwhen the device is closed. The other display, i.e., an external display1606, is located on the outside of the device 104. Thus, the externaldisplay 1606 is exposed regardless of whether the device is opened orclosed.

The wireless communication device 1600 further comprises a memory 206that stores multiple applications and/or multiple media content that maybe shown by the external display 1606, and a processor 204 coupled tothe external display. The processor changes operation of the externaldisplay 1606 from one application to another and/or from one mediacontent to another. Similar to previous embodiments, a container isassociated with the visible area of the external display 1606 and may beassociated with one or more plug-ins and one or more channels of mediacontent. Also, the container for the external display 1606 may onlydisplay one channel at any given time. Accordingly, the processor 204 iscapable of cycling through a group of applications and/or media contentin a particular order and causes the external display 1606 to change inaccordance with the predetermined order.

For one embodiment, the wireless communication device 1600 may furthercomprise one or more sensors, e.g., input devices 210, supported by thehousing and coupled to the processor 204. The processor 204 is capableof changing operation of the external display 1606 in response to anactivation of a sensor. For another embodiment, the device 1600 mayfurther comprise two sensors, i.e., input devices 210, supported by thehousing and coupled to the processor 204. One sensor may cause theprocessor 204 to cycle through multiple applications of a particularchannel one-by-one in a particular order, and the other sensor may causethe processor to cycle through the applications of the particularchannel one-by-one in an order opposite the particular order. For yetanother embodiment, the processor 204 executes automatically anapplication when operation of the external display 1606 is changed tothe application and/or terminates automatically an application whenoperation of the external display is changed from the application. Forstill another embodiment, the device 1600 further comprises a userinterface supported by the housing and coupled to the processor 204. Theprocessor 204 changes operation of the external display 1606 to adefault application when a predetermined time period of inactivity atthe user interface is detected.

A user of the wireless communication device 1600 may manage mediacontent, channels and applications through a control panel applicationin the first display, i.e., the internal display 1608. For example, thecontrol patent may set a screensaver (as part of a channel orotherwise), timeout settings, select accessible channels and preferredchannels, configure display order of channels and/or items of a channel,loading/unloading channels into the content cache 306 of the device, andconfigure other channel-specific settings.

Referring to FIG. 17, the carousel function of the wirelesscommunication device, describe above, allows multiple channels and/orapplications to displayed in a single container, and each container mayonly display one channel or application at a display area at any giventime. Thus, the carousel function cycles through all channels and/orapplications associated with the container, and its associated displayarea of the external display, so that the channels may be viewed by auser within a given time period. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, theexternal display may cycle through applications and/or media contentinclude, but not limited to, a clock channel or application 1702, aphoto channel or application 1704, a microphone channel or application1706, a multimedia player channel or application 1708, an alarm channelor application 1710, and a status channel or application 1712. Thestatus channel or application may include a variety of informationincluding, but not limited to, time information (including date andtime) and an image or logo.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustratedand described, it is to be understood that the invention is not solimited. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions andequivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by theappended claims.

1. A wireless communication device for providing media objectscomprising: a display including at least one display area; and acontainer associated with each display area, each container beingassociated with a plurality of channels of media content and configuredto provide one channel of the plurality of channels of media content atthe corresponding display area at any given time.
 2. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 1, further comprising a carouselconfigured to cycle through the plurality of channels associated with aparticular container, the plurality of channels being shown by thecorresponding display area over a one-cycle period.
 3. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 1, wherein the container provides thesingle channel of media content at the corresponding display area at anygiven time during an idle mode.
 4. The wireless communication device ofclaim 1, further comprising at least one plug-in associated with thecontainer, each plug-in being configured to provide functionality tomanage at least one channel of the plurality of channels of mediacontent.
 5. The wireless communication device of claim 1, furthercomprising: an external display, separate from the display, including anexternal display area; and another container, associated with theexternal display area, configured to provide another channel of mediacontent at the external display area.
 6. A method for a wirelesscommunication device for providing media objects comprising: associatinga container with a display area of a display and a plurality of channelsof media content; and providing one channel of the plurality of channelsof media content at the display area at any given time.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising cycling through the plurality of channelsassociated with the container at the corresponding display area over aone-cycle period.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein providing onechannel of the plurality of channels of media content at the displayarea at any given time includes providing the one channel at any giventime during an idle mode.
 9. The method of claim 6, further comprisingassociating at least one plug-in associated with the container toprovide functionality to manage at least one channel of the plurality ofchannels of media content.
 10. The method of claim 6, further comprisingproviding another channel of media content at external display area. 11.A wireless communication device for providing media objects comprising:a fetcher configured to receive a plurality of channels of media contentand properties associated with the channels from a remote device; acontent cache configured to store the plurality of channels andproperties associated with the channels; and a display configure toprovide the media content of at least one channel, in accordance withthe properties associated with the channels, after the plurality ofchannels are stored by the content cache.
 12. The wireless communicationdevice of claim 11, wherein the fetcher communicates with the remotedevice vie a wireless link.
 13. The wireless communication device ofclaim 11, wherein the display provides the media content during an idlemode of the device.
 14. The wireless communication device of claim 11,further comprising a carousel configured to cycle through the pluralityof channels at the display over a one-cycle period.
 15. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 11, wherein the properties associated withthe channels include a type of display template associated with eachchannel.
 16. A method for a wireless communication device for providingmedia objects comprising: receiving a plurality of channels of mediacontent and properties associated with the channels from a remotedevice; storing the plurality of channels and properties associated withthe channels; and providing the media content of at least one channel,in accordance with the properties associated with the channels, afterstoring the plurality of channels.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereinreceiving a plurality of channels of media content and propertiesassociated with the channels from a remote device includes receiving theplurality of channels of media content and the properties associatedwith the channels via wireless link.
 18. The method of claim 16, whereinproviding the media content of at least one channel, in accordance withthe properties associated with the channels, after storing the pluralityof channels includes providing the media content during an idle mode ofthe device.
 19. The method of claim 16, further comprising cyclingthrough the plurality of channels over a one-cycle period.
 20. Themethod of claim 16, wherein receiving a plurality of channels of mediacontent and properties associated with the channels from a remote deviceincludes receiving a type of display template associated with eachchannel.
 21. The method for a wireless communication system forproviding media objects comprising: collecting channels of media contentfrom at least one media provider; storing a list of the channels ofmedia content; providing the list of the channel of media content to aremote device; receiving channel selections from the remote device; anddelivering the channels of media content corresponding to the channelselects to the remote device.
 22. The wireless communication system ofclaim 21, wherein collecting channels of media content includesreceiving the channels of media content directly from media providersand indirectly from media providers via a content aggregator.
 23. Thewireless communication system of claim 22, wherein the contentaggregator formats channels of media content received from mediaproviders in a common format.
 24. The wireless communication system ofclaim 23, wherein the common format is XML.
 25. The wirelesscommunication system of claim 21, wherein each of providing the list ofthe channel of media content to a remote device, receiving channelselections from the remote device, and delivering the channels of mediacontent corresponding to the channel selects to the remote deviceincludes communicating with the remote device via a wireless link.
 26. Awireless communication device for providing channel informationcomprising: a housing having a first display and a second display, thehousing having a first position exposing the first and second displaysand a second position covering the first display and exposing the seconddisplay; a memory configured to store a plurality of media objects thatmay be shown by the second display; and a processor, coupled to thesecond display, configured to change operation of the second displayfrom one media object to another.
 27. The wireless communication deviceof claim 26, wherein each media object is one of a media content and anapplication.
 28. The wireless communication device of claim 26, whereinthe processor cycles through the plurality of applications in aparticular order and causes the second display to change in accordancewith the predetermined order.
 29. The wireless communication device ofclaim 26, further comprising a sensor supported by the housing andcoupled to the processor, wherein the processor changes operation of thesecond display in response to an activation of the sensor.
 30. Thewireless communication device of claim 26, further comprising: a firstsensor, supported by the housing and coupled to the processor,configured to cause the processor to cycle through the plurality ofapplications one-by-one in a particular order; and a second sensor,supported by the housing and coupled to the processor, configured tocause the processor to cycle through the plurality of applicationsone-by-one in an order opposite the particular order.
 31. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 30, further comprising a select key,coupled to the processor, configured to interact with a media objectcurrently shown by the second display.
 32. The wireless communicationdevice of claim 30, wherein the processor executes automatically aparticular application when operation of the second display is changedto the particular application.
 33. The wireless communication device ofclaim 30, wherein the processor terminates automatically a particularapplication when operation of the second display is changed from theparticular application.
 34. The wireless communication device of claim30, further comprising a user interface supported by the housing andcoupled to the processor, wherein the processor changes operation of thesecond display to a default application when a predetermined time periodof inactivity at the user interface is detected.
 35. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 30, wherein the first display isconfigured to operate at least one configuration setting that controlsoperation of the second display.